When Old Paths Cross
by Things-YouLove
Summary: 5 years ago Cat never wanted to see Tori again, but when their paths do eventually cross, Cat barely recognized the girl any more, she was different, like an empty shell of the girl she once was, a horrible life will do that to you, the path Tori chose to follow, the path that alienated her from her friends had led her to this, who will be their for her in her hour of need?
1. Out In The Cold

**Hello again, for those who recognize my screen name, if not I'll just say hello anyway because I like being polite lol.**

 **Anyway, for those interested in my other stories that are still in progress (Desertion and Opposites to be specific) I know it seems like a long time but I haven't forgotten about those, at least I'm trying not to.**

 **This however, this is an idea I've been toying with and I feel like giving it a go because I've hit a mental wall with the others, so I decided why not give something new a try, if it works it works if not, at least I can say I tried.**

 **I hope you enjoy and it would be greatly appreciated if you could let me know if you did and we'll see where that leads us.**

* * *

"Fuck you!"

"No! fuck you!"

 ***BANG**

The sound of the loud heavy door slam echoed through the apartment building, there was hardly any doubt that there wasn't a single person in the entire apartment building that didn't hear it, a simple door slam was probably one of the more pleasant sounds to emanate from number 74 on the 12th floor.  
She looked to her left and saw nothing but an empty hallway, she looked to her right and saw exactly the same, it was about 10pm at night so most if not all of her neighbours were home, the door to the left of her and the door to the right, even the one directly opposite her, there were people and families behind each one, each with their own story to tell, each with their own lives, but not a single soul had the decency to step outside and see what had happened, maybe they didn't care, maybe they didn't want to, or maybe they were just afraid.

A heavy exhale escaped her mouth as she paused to think, deciding on heading toward the elevator for whatever reason, without an idea where she would go or who she would see, she just wanted to get as far away from number 74 as possible, and she could start by getting down 12 stories to street level.  
The entire elevator ride down to the ground floor was silent, aside from the usual whirs and clicks and rumbles of the mechanisms of the machine at work, it was an old elevator and believe me it sounded older than it was.  
The elevator stopped suddenly almost as if it had jammed and was stuck, for most people this would be cause for concern but for the people that lived in the apartment building and the common visitors it was the normal, and that's when the doors opened.

She heard the click of the apartment buildings main door as it shut behind her, stepping forward from beneath the shelter she felt the harsh rain immediately, she had already known it was raining long before she found herself down here, but she had no idea just how bad it was until she experienced it first hand, the wind was fierce and the rain was heavy, she was scared, and alone, well... almost alone.  
With one hand she pulled her hood up and looked down at the young boy cradled in her arms, he was sound asleep, fortunately, who knows how he slept through what he did but that's a story for another day.  
A brief moment of calm washed over the girl as she stared down at him, before another heavy gust of wind and a ferocious hiss from the falling rain pulled her from this, she used her free arm to lift the boys hood up over his head and wrapped the blanket tightly around him, making sure he was secure in her arms, holding him as close to her as she possibly could, hunching over to ensure he was protected from any rainfall as she set off walking.

The entire time she walked warm tears were falling at a gradually increasing pace, a mixture of anger, pain, fear, sorrow and regret all causing the girls eyes to overflow, but if you passed her in this terrible weather you'd never guess she was crying at first glance, but maybe the second glance would do it, especially if you could see the bloodshot eyes, and the bruised cheek.  
She walked aimlessly, keeping the boy held as close as she could, faintly mumbling to herself, "don't worry honey, I'll keep you safe, I'll always keep you safe, I'll keep... us safe".

She continued to head down another street with no idea where she was going, I mean where exactly WAS she supposed to go at 10pm at night? she thought about going to the police sure, but she was too scared to do that, so instead she just kept on walking, down whatever street she could, across whatever road she had to, every now and then she would pass someone, maybe just one person or multiple, but none would say a word to her, apart from the group of young hooded boys hanging around on a street corner that noticed her, mumbling about robbing her, identifying her as an easy target, until they noticed the child in her arms, thinking better of it, but they wouldn't help her, instead they'd just wait for the next unfortunate soul to walk down the street.

She glanced down at the boy who was still sound asleep but the wind was slightly pulling his hood down, causing him to get a little wet, the girl immediately used one hand to pull the hood back up, and to wipe the few rain drops from him skin too, not even realizing she was halfway across a road, too preoccupied with the child, "there we go honey, we wouldn't want you to get sick now would we? I told you I'll keep you safe, I'll keep us safe, I promise"

An almighty roar of a car horn sent a shock wave of fear straight to the girls very heart, she heard the screech of brakes and looked to her left to be blinded by the headlights, time seemed to slow down as the car approached, she closed her eyes and gripped the child tight fearing the worst, "I love you" she whispered assuming the car wouldn't be able to stop, the noises of the horn and the screeching brakes stopped however, and the girl realized she was still alive.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" she heard a man shout from the car as his window slid down, dimming his headlights to allow the girl to open her eyes without being blinded, but she wouldn't move, frozen with fear, and who can blame her on a night like this in this sort of weather if you were in her shoes with a car only seconds away from hitting you, you'd probably have your life flash before your eyes too.

Slowly the girl opened her eyes, looking down she could see that she was indeed still alive, and she made sure the child in her arms was too, but she still wouldn't move.

"didn't you hear me? I said what the fuck is the matter with y-" before the man in the car could finish his sentence however he was cut off, probably by the passenger.

But the girl standing in the middle of the road was too preoccupied to care, too focussed on the boy in her arms, she held him tightly and sobbed quietly, "I thought I lost you, I'm so sorry, I'll never let that happen again" she spoke and spoke to the child, with the fear that she genuinely nearly died and took the life that had not yet even begun with her, she was so focussed on that she didn't even hear the car door open, until a voice spoke to her.

"Tori?"

* * *

"Your seat Miss. Valentine"

"Oh well you're too kind" she gushed as the gentleman pulled her chair back for her, taking a seat he gently pushed the chair back underneath her, she couldn't hide a smile and even a little giggle as the gesture touched her, before he took his seat opposite her, smiling as he looked her in the eyes.

"You look lovely tonight" he started, taking her hands from across the table with his own.

"Stop" she giggled a little, looking down before looking back up, "you mean that?" "of course I do" he reassured her and she just laughed again.

"And of course, congratulations on the new record deal, I'd say that calls for the finest bottle of champagne they have in this place don't you think?"

"James please, I'd love a drink but I have work tomorrow, and plus you're driving remember" she sighed a little thinking how good a nice cold glass of champagne would be right now but knew it was the smart choice, "yeah I guess you're right right Cat, okay, a glass of wine it is, but you owe me sex tonight then" he smirked a little as Cat's cheeks flushed a shade of red, "James!" she gasped in a hushed tone, staring at the boy opposite her who just smirked and laughed at his comment, and it wasn't long before Cat did the same, shaking her head to regain her composure, "fine, a glass of wine and sober sex it is" she remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, causing the edge of Cat's lips to curve up into a tiny smirk as she heard a familiar phrase that reminded her of her time back at school, "that sober sex usually lasts about five minutes" Cat said with a giggle, looking him in his eyes, "yeah well, you'd know how I felt if you were in bed with a girl as sexy as you" he said looking down a little feeling emasculated.  
Cat reached across the table and put her palm on his closed fist, making him look up at her, "I'm kidding" she said reassuringly, "but I mean, five more minutes is all I ask" she teased with a little wink, "when we get home you'll be begging me to stop" he teased back at her and Cat raised her eyebrows, "can we stop talking about having sex now please? the waiter will be back any minute" Cat laughed a little harder taking a sip of wine, "okay, less talk more action, and there will be plenty of just that later tonight young lady" he teased one final time before the waiter returned with their orders, meaning Cat couldn't shoot him a smart ass comeback even if she wanted to.

The pair proceeded to enjoy their meal and savour one another's company for the first time in a long time, they were both far too busy with work, Cat because she was an aspiring singer/songwriter and James because he worked at the record label Cat was signed to, but not as an artist he was in charge of promotions and public appearances, tours, performances and signings, pretty much anything an artist would do to promote their new single, aside from going on tour he was the man that would organize everything.

With one final mouthful of wine Cat put her now empty glass down on the table and looked across at her boyfriend, "so sex now?" he asked, she just laughed about it "really? right here? you'd do me over this table?" "I think that would take a few more bottles of wine first" he laughed and so did she, leaving the money for the bill along with a tip the pair stood up and headed out to the car.

"I can't believe how bad the rain is" Cat moaned as the pair drove home "my dress is ruined" "relax its fine, your dress just needs a wash that's all, and your hair and make up look just great" James laughed slightly and Cat quickly went to her purse and retrieved her handheld mirror, quickly getting a look she noticed her hair looked like she had been in the shower and all they did was walk to the car and two long streaks of mascara ran down either side of Cat's face, "oh my god" Cat shrieked as she assessed the damage, James just laughed about the ordeal, "relax, I still think you're pretty, besides its not like we're going anywhere anyway" he said momentarily taking his eyes off the road to look over and make sure Cat wasn't upset.

"You're such a sap" Cat giggled and looked at him "yeah but it made you smile" he winked at Cat and she just giggled a little more turning to look at the road.

"JAMES!" she shrieked at the top of her lungs as a silhouette appeared in front of them walking across the road, he immediately slammed on the brakes and hit the car horn as hard as he could.  
Cat held her breath as the sound of the brakes and the horn were the only things heard, hoping with everything that she had that the car would stop in time, fortunately for her and everyone involved it did.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?!" James yelled from the car as his window began to slide down and he reached for the door, "James, don't" Cat reached across and put her hand on his knee, fearing that he would get out of the car and confront the person, Cat didn't want that to happen.

He could sense her fear and stopped, looking back at her, "probably just some idiot too messed up on whatever drugs they can find anyway" he sighed as he dimmed the headlights to see the person standing in front of them hadn't moved at all, they were keeled over slightly holding what seemed to be just a blanket against their chest.

"What should we do?" Cat asked as they both stared at the person.

James leaned towards the opened window and tried to get her attention again.

"Didn't you hear me? I said what the fuck is the matter with y-" "wait" he was cut off by Cat as she briefly saw a glimpse of the persons face as they looked down at the blanket they had held tightly to their chest.

Cat reached for the door slowly, never once taking her eyes off of the person in front of the car, "Cat what are you doing?" James asked but Cat didn't respond.

Slowly, she exited the car and tentatively walked forward, she could hear heavy breathing from the person who appeared to be sobbing, holding the blanket as tight as she possibly could, Cat also heard faint mumbling but couldn't quite make out what was being said.

When Cat felt she was close enough to the person, who was still completely lost in their own world, sobbing into the blanket, she gathered her breath and said her name.

"Tori?"

* * *

 **Well, that's where I'm going to leave this one for now, I hope you enjoyed it and it would be appreciated if you could let me know if you did, I'm not demanding reviews so if you don't want to you don't have to, its just nice to have that reassurance that people do enjoy my work, and of course if you have any critiques feel free to point them out so I can do my best to make my writing better.**

 **Again there's no guarantee I'll carry this story on, just an idea that's being tested I suppose, if you like the concept and want to see more just let me know.**

 **Thank you for reading :)**


	2. What Once Was

**And we are back.**

 **First of all I'd just like to say how thankful I am for the showing of interest and support my little idea has received thus far, definitely inspired me to want to keep it going.  
Also I just want to say I know my writing wont be winning any awards any time soon but its just something I enjoy doing occasionally and something I am always striving to improve and learn upon, and I am also grateful for the critiques as they help me to do exactly that.  
Hopefully I can maintain a consistent level of quality and uploading schedule as well as I do have ideas for this story, where it will go, how it will end, it won't be the longest story ever as it was just a simple idea I thought of and decided to put into words.  
Nevertheless we'll continue now and as always, I hope you enjoy.**

 **Oh and a bit of a warning, this chapter is a bit on the darker side.**

* * *

"Tori?"

Silence.

The name alone was enough to bring all of the memories flooding back to Cat as she stood in suspense only a few feet from the girl she hadn't spoken to, heard from, or even seen for the last 5 years.  
One memory that stood head and shoulders above all else as they flooded her mind was the most important one, the one Cat tried to hide away in the deepest and darkest corners of her mind, the memory that she wanted to believe never happened. But she was forced to relive it all over in her head as much as she resisted she was powerless, standing this close to the girl she once considered family and now felt like she had never even knew meant Cat had to play the moments all over again, that night. The night that changed everything.

 _*Flashback*_

 _"Who on earth could be knocking on my door at this time of night?" Cat asked herself quietly as she walked across the hardwood floor towards her front door, her soft fuzzy slippers made her footsteps entirely silent. checking the clock on the wall as she asked herself the question, noting that the time was 11:45pm at night, and she had school in the morning._

 _Cat attempted to look through the peephole, standing on her very tippy toes, making a slight grunting sound as she stretched but it was no use, she was too small.  
She mentally cursed her diminutive stature as she really didn't want to open the door, all the lights in her house were off and she was the only one home, her parents and her brother were away for that weekend because of a "special doctors appointment" her brother had.  
With Cat waiting so long to reach for the doorknob it sparked another flurry of knocks to come from the other side, this time sounding more impatient with the increase in force and volume._

 _With a shaky hand Cat finally clasped the doorknob, twisting the key simultaneously she slowly turned and heard the click, pulling the door toward her ever so slightly in order to peer around the big heavy door, but the moment she did so her blood ran cold._

 _It was Tori, and she did not look good, her hair was a mess as if it had been pulled repeatedly, a large part of her hair covered the right side of her face, or the left side from where Cat was standing, but it wasn't the usual pristine, brushed a thousand times, beautiful luscious locks that Tori usually walked around with, it was loose, disheveled and even matted in some places, the loud down pouring rain probably had some part to play in mangling Tori's hair, but upon a look over the rest of her face Cat knew, hell she didn't even need to see anything else to know; that wasn't the only reason._

 _The only reason Cat noticed Tori's hair first was because of how it covered part of her face, if it wasn't Cat would have noticed the long thick streaks of what used to be mascara, and whatever other makeup products Tori was using, cascading down the side of her face that she could actually see and she knew it was a pretty safe bet to think that those same marks would be behind the hair on the other side._

 _And of course, the balled up tissue pressed against her nose, use for so long to stem the pouring blood it had turned completely red and wasn't even doing a job to stop the flow anymore, noted by the long streak of blood down Tori's hand and arm that she was using to hold the tissue against her face.  
She was silent, trembling, too scared to even look Cat in the eye instead she just stared forward with no emotion at all in her face or in her eyes, her lip was busted slightly it looked like an old wound had been reopened a little and had been bleeding, but had been stopped._

 _Cat snapped herself out of this dazed state and threw the door open. Pretty much dragging Tori in by the scruff of her neck and slamming the door closed behind her.  
"Tori what happened?" Cat asked with fear in her voice as she led Tori through to the kitchen to clean her face off, but Cat didn't even need an answer from the silent, terrified girl, she already knew exactly who was responsible._

 _Cat took the tissue that was soaked in Tori's blood and threw it away, inviting Tori to sit down she retrieved a roll of tissue paper and a bowl filled with water.  
She ripped some of the tissue and balled it up, gently dipping it in the water slightly she sat opposite Tori and began to wipe the makeup stains from her face, noting how Tori was still silent and would not meet Cat's gaze, through the one eye she could actually see out of that is.  
Cat continued to wipe the stains of either tears, makeup or blood from the portion of Tori's face she could actually see, both girls were completely silent, Cat didn't want to say anything because she knew why Tori was in this state, and Tori knew that Cat knew._

 _Cat slowly use her hand to gently ease the hair out of Tori's face, exposing her other eye, with the same streaks of makeup running down her face, only this eye wasn't like the other one, the skin around her eye was a discoloured shade of purple and grey, it was slightly swollen too. Cat sighed as she inspected the black eye, tenderly gliding her finger tip over the skin which had a slight throb to it, she could feel how it had swollen and new by tomorrow it would be worse.  
Tori moved back a little from Cat's touch when she applied a little too much pressure. "Hey, hey its okay I'm not going to hurt you" Cat reassured in a soothing tone, the same tone a mother would use with their child if they were in any sort of pain._

 _Tori continued to remain silent but listened to Cat's words and moved herself forward again to allow Cat to continue cleaning her up.  
"You need to get some ice on that" Cat instructed as she folded some tissue and held it against Tori's still slightly bleeding nose allowing Tori to take it from her._

 _"C...Cat" Tori finally seemed to find her voice as Cat stood up and turned away, immediately causing her to spin back round to look at Tori. "I'm... I'm..." her voice was soft, and faint, as if she had lost her voice from shouting or screaming.  
"It's okay" Cat sighed a little shaking her head, she knew exactly what Tori was going to say, it was all Tori ever seemed to say anymore.  
But as Cat turned to walk away again, gesturing a nod with her head to tell Tori to follow her she felt Tori grab her wrist and so once again Cat turned back around to look at Tori.  
"I'm... so... sorry" Tori was practically whispering at this point, the words seemed to break her as two heavy streams of tears began to fall the moment she said the word 'sorry'.  
_

 _Cat sat back down to get to Tori's level, ripping another piece of tissue and using it to dab at the tears as the ran down Tori's cheeks, her always complimented and very prominent cheekbones, which were usually so obvious to the world because she was always smiling seemed lifeless at this point, as if she hadn't smiled in weeks, sure the shape was still there but they just lacked that usual "Tori Vega shine" that they usually had.  
"It's okay Tori" Cat said using that same soothing tone from before, taking the hand Tori wasn't using to keep the tissue pressed against her nose with her hand that she wasn't using, giving Tori a reassuring smile but not getting one in return._

 _Finally Cat was able to lead Tori from the kitchen and invited her to sit down on the couch, using a makeshift ice pack, which was really just a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel she invited Tori to lay her head down into her lap so Cat could hold the ice pack gently in place against her swollen and discoloured eye.  
_

 _"Why do you do this to yourself Tori?" Cat asked using her free hand to play with a few loose strands of hair on Tori's head.  
"He can change" Tori said back ever so slightly, almost as if she herself didn't believe her words, and she knew for sure Cat wasn't about to believe them either.  
"People like him, they don't change Tori" Cat sighed to herself, "how many times will it take before enough is enough? how many black eyes? how many bloody noses? how many teeth will he have to knock out before you see this isn't right Tori?" Cat asked sternly, she had stopped playing with Tori's hair now and instead her free hand was clenched into a fist.  
"I want him to change" Tori whispered, her voice was even fainter than before, Cat knew Tori was crying but did nothing about it. As much as Cat wanted to help her best friend it felt like everything she said just went in one ear and out the other.  
_

 _Several loud bangs sent a shock wave through the house immediately startling both girls, Tori whimpered in fear and Cat felt a shiver run down her spine, the hairs on the back of her neck were beginning to stand on end.  
"Wait here" she said quietly Tori as she sat her up and stood to her feet. Slowly making her way over to the door, never leaving Tori's sight as she kept her eyes firmly affixed on Cat the entire time, staring through tear filled eyes.  
Cat opened the door knowing exactly what, or who... she would see._

 _It was him, Max.  
Tori's boyfriend.  
"Where is she?" he spoke sternly to Cat, trying to intimidate her, usually he had no problem intimidating anyone, he was three years older than Tori, who was only 17 at the time, which raised questions as to why he was dating a school girl to begin with.  
His breath had a strong smell of alcohol on it and his body smelled like a brewery as he leaned against the door frame getting right in front of Cat, he was well over 6 feet tall so he easily dwarfed Cat as he looked down into her eyes._  
 _"She's not here" Cat said timidly, "bullshit!" he shouted back straight into her face making Cat wince slightly._  
 _"Open the door" he commanded and Cat refused, "I know she's in there!" he yelled again using a bit more force this time, Cat could already feel she was losing and he'd easily be able to push the door open._  
 _"Max she isn't here, calm down" Cat tried to reason with him but her words seemed to add fuel to the fire, "calm down? calm down? you're telling me to fucking calm down?" he yelled banging on Cat's door as he finished his sentence._

 _"Get out of my way" he ordered but Cat refused, feeling fear coursing through her veins she knew she had to stand up for her friend as it was clear she wasn't going to._  
 _"Oh so you're suddenly acting tough you little bitch?" he asked standing right over Cat, "we'll see how tough you are when my friends tie you to a table and take turns" he laughed to himself as he spoke whatever sadistic thoughts were running through his mind._  
 _"Truth be told, I wouldn't mind a turn myself, I always thought you'd be a better fuck anyway" he laughed to himself as he brushed his thumb over Cat's cheek._  
 _"I'm going to count to three and then you're going to open the door whether you like it or not!" he bellowed in Cat's ears this time but despite Cat almost being frozen with fear she still refused to move._

 _"One!...Two!...Three!" he yelled aloud, pausing almost in disbelief as Cat still stood there, backing up slightly._  
 _"Do you think this is a joke you dumb slut? I said open the fucking door!" he yelled again and this time without warning he kicked the door hard, sending Cat flying._  
 _The door swung open and he walked in, immediately locating Tori who instantly jumped to her feet, "you lying little BITCH!" he yelled kicking Cat in the stomach as she lay on the floor. She had fallen straight back onto the hardwood floor and hit her head hard, knocking her out briefly._

 _"You..." he started as he walked over to Tori._  
 _The sound of a harsh slap seemed to wake Cat up again, she could hear every bit of what Max was screaming at Tori, and every time he would slap her across the face and Tori would plead and beg and say she was sorry to him but he would just hit her again._  
 _Cat found her bearings and despite being somewhat dazed was able to get herself to her feet._

 _She turned around and felt as though she was going to throw up, her vision was blurry and she felt nauseous, as if she was going to pass out._  
 _She examined the back of her head for any blood but there wasn't any, but man was her head pounding, an almost unbearable pain was making Cat feel worse with every passing second._  
 _But despite barely being able to see and with her ears beginning to ring she could still see and hear him._  
 _He had Tori backed against the wall and he had one hand pressed over her throat and the other he repeatedly drew back and used to slap Tori._

 _Cat knew she couldn't let this go on and she knew if she succumbed to the burning desire her body had to pass out it would, who knew what he would do to her, with the way he spoke so openly about raping Cat there was no telling just how sadistic his intentions could be towards Tori._

 _"Hey!" Cat yelled grabbing his attention, he stopped his hand before he could slap Tori across the face and looked back toward Cat._  
 _"Let her go" Cat continued, making her way over, she stumbled slightly and knew she was going to pass out any second._  
 _"And what if I don't?" He shouted back at her._  
 _"I'll go to the police, tell them exactly what you're doing to Tori and everything you've done to her, we both know she wont but you wouldn't hit her in front of a witness now would you?" Cat asked, almost challenging him._  
 _He paused for a moment to think before releasing his grip on Tori's throat, "I'm going to go outside and you've got ten seconds to follow me or else I'll have my boys pay your sister a visit" he threatened before walking out, staring at Cat as he did._

 _No more than a mere second after he had slammed the door behind him Tori had begun to walk toward the door to follow him out._  
 _Cat grabbed Tori by the wrist though and stopped her, "don't go Tori, please, he'll hurt you" Cat pleaded Tori, obviously scared, not just because of what he had done but she was scared for what he can and probably will do to poor Tori when he gets her alone. "But he said... Trina..." Tori looked down as she repeated his words over in her head, "I can't let him hurt her" she said shrugging Cat's hand off and moving toward the door once more._  
 _"So then don't!" Cat yelled once again grabbing her, this time with both hands. "You don't have to live like this Tori, it can all go away if you stand up and tell someone exactly what he does to you, but your the only one that can make it all go away" Cat continued to beg but Tori seemed distant, just repeating his words about Trina over and over again in her mind._

 _"I'm sorry Cat" Tori said once again shrugging Cat away and heading for the door._  
 _"Fine! go!" Cat yelled making Tori stop in her tracks, this time she didn't grab Tori though she just yelled. "go back to him Tori! let him hit you again! and again! and who knows what else he does to you when you two are alone, why do you put up with it? why should anyone have to put up with it? I'd never want to live that way and I know you don't want to either. You're blinded by your own desires Tori, you may have fell in love with Max but that MONSTER out there is not that same person, but you seem to be the only person who can't see that, please Tori, I'm begging you as your friend... don't go, stop this before he kills you Tori. Staying with him is changing you Tori, you're a completely different person! you're not the girl I consider my best friend! you're not the girl I consider family anymore! he's changed you Tori, I feel like I don't even know you anymore!" Cat was pouring her heart out to Tori who just seemed to stare at the floor half listening and half too terrified to even pay attention._

 _"Tori you know this isn't right, no relationship should be like this, he hits you, you leave, he cries, you go back. You constantly insist he will change but he wont, he will continue to hit you and it will only get worse Tori, and I don't want that for you, I miss you because you're not the person you once was anymore, and I don't like the person he's made you become, and I'm afraid I don't want to be a part of this anymore Tori, I'm sick and tired of it, I don't want to be around a dangerous psychopath anymore, none of us do!" Cat yelled, obviously indicating the group of friends that all felt exactly the same way towards this alienated version of Tori_

 _Tori stood silent, letting the tears fall down her face, slowly she raised her gaze to meet Cat's worried stare, inwardly she was begging and pleading with herself to listen but she was just too overcome with fear to do anything about it, "I'm sorry" she sighed and she turned to the door once again._

 _"Wait Tori" Cat called once more and Tori looked back._

 _"I mean what I said" she continued in a stern tone, "I don't want to be a part of this anymore Tori, so if you walk out that door its over, its either him or me Tori... its either him or... us"._

 _Cat's vision blurred again and she could just about stand, she barely managed to keep herself conscious long enough to see Tori walk out the door and make her decision for her._  
 _"Coward" Cat sighed to herself as she lost consciousness._

 _*End Flashback*_

"Cat!" James yelled from beside her, finally pulling her from the deep dark thoughts she was being forced to relive, Cat had froze where she was and became unresponsive while she relived that faithful night over in her mind, she stood completely still staring blankly into space while James had got Tori into the backseat of the car.  
"Come on we can take her to the hospital!" he yelled taking Cat's hand guiding her back to the car.

Cat sat down in the car still half lost in her thoughts, they had given her a pounding headache, every headache she ever suffered after that night seemed painfully worse than those she had suffered before, because what she was unaware of at first was that she had suffered a concussion from hitting the floor as hard as she did, it was amazing she was able to stand for as long as she did before she blacked out, eventually being found by her neighbour who noticed her front door was wide open.

"Do you know her?" James asked Cat as he sat down.  
"Who is she Cat? how do you know her? do you know where she lives? do you know anyone I should call? should we go to the police? or the hospital? what should I do Cat?" he continued to ask question after question and Cat remained silent trying her best to think, wondering what to do, judging by the state of Tori Cat was beginning to connect the dots and put the pieces together, she knew Max was still in the picture and she felt scared, for her own sake and for James.

"Cat didn't you hear me? I said what should I do?" he again asked a question to Cat who was so lost in her thoughts she could barely hear him, but his hand on her shoulder snapped her from them.  
"Would you just shut up for a moment and let me think?!" Cat shrieked at him and sighed, rubbing her temples as the car fell silent, "I'm sorry" Cat sighed quietly taking a moment to think.

However the quiet in the car would not last long as a noise came from the back seat, but it wasn't Tori, it sounded like crying... a child's crying, and that's when Cat remembered the blanket, she had completely forgotten that due to getting caught up in her flashback.  
The cries grew louder and Tori could be heard attempting to calm whoever it was that was crying.

Cat used the rear view mirror to look back at her, or more specifically the wrapped up blanket that she was still clutching to her chest as if her life depended on it.

"Tori... what is that?" Cat asked nervously, afraid to hear the answer, Tori looked up and met Cat's eyes in the rear view mirror, they looked lifeless, and empty. Tori sighed as she looked down at the child in her arms before looking up to Cat, she cleared her throat and finally spoke.

"My son"

* * *

 **And that is where we are going to leave it for now, I hope you enjoyed it, as much as you could enjoy it I suppose, I was writing it and even I didn't like what was going on.**

 **It was pretty hard to write in some places, I hate the idea of domestic abuse or violence and all the problems it can bring, if this chapter offended you or upset you in any way I am deeply sorry and I can assure you that was not my intention at all.**

 **I'd love to know what you think however and I really do hope you enjoyed it.**


	3. Remember

**And we are back, once again.**

 **I must say reading such bright, responsive reviews really helps by way of giving me ideas on how to improve upon this story, I'm always getting new and more intriguing ideas with each review I read.  
Its so much more refreshing to see reviews that fully engage the story and everything it is about rather than just saying "can't want for the next chapter" and of course those are good too as I've said prior I thoroughly cherish each and every response my work gets, but there's something extra special when there's a little bit more heart put into it.**

 **So I'd like to express my gratitude to the reviewers that have questioned and suggested ideas too, in response to the questions such as "where are the Vega's?" I had already thought about that and I have already planned to address their seeming absence, and any other questions that have been asked I hope I will be able to answer for you as the story progresses.**

 **So without further ado, let's carry on.**

* * *

"My son"

Two words.

That was all it took.

Two words that changed everything.

Two words that made this situation far more serious and far more severe, Cat sat in silence repeating those two words over and over and over in her head.  
What would Cat have done had James not been able to stop in time? what if this scenario played out differently and the only way Cat would have learned of the child in Tori's arms was by looking down at the pair of them on the road, dead.  
What then? what would have happened then? would James be arrested for murder? would Cat be convicted as an accomplice? one thing she knew for certain is she would never be looked at the same way again, from that night onward she would always be the girl who ran down an innocent mother and her child, and that terrified Cat to her very soul.

Cat felt a jolt pulling her from another almost trance like state within her mind, she looked down to see James' hand on her knee and she looked up to meet his eyes filled with sincerity and care, "just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it" he said quietly, never once letting his eyes stray away from hers, showing her she had his full undivided support whatever her decision may be.  
"Let me drive"Cat said sternly as she seemed to come back to reality, opening the car door on her side she hopped out before James could even question her, and despite having his full support he definitely did question her, but Cat didn't bother to listen, walking around to his side she pulled the door open and stared at him, "James you can either slide over or get out and go around, one way or another I'm driving this car"  
He could tell by the tone of her voice and the fire in her eyes that she knew what she was doing.

He got out of the car and looked her in the eyes as he stood, the rain was still falling and a few droplets ran down Cat's cheek looking like teardrops. The moon was high in the sky overhead and as bright as ever, twinkling in Cat's brown eyes, James was lost for a moment as he stared at the jaw dropping sight that Cat was to him, wanting nothing more than to kiss her right there and then in the pouring rain under the moonlight, but he knew serious matters had to be attended to first.  
He headed around to the passenger seat and sat down, before he could even ask Cat where she was going she had already put her foot down as the car began to move, truth be told not even Cat knew where she was going or what she would do when she ended up there.

"Cat where are we going?" James asked with a genuine hint of fear in his voice, afraid on the state that seeing Tori had seemed to put Cat in, she had tunnel vision on the road in front of her and blocked out everything else around her, lost in the thoughts of her mind as she processed it all again and again. That night. Tori walking out. Not seeing her for all these years.  
And then it was like a light bulb appeared over Cat's head as she snapped out of the trance like state once more, briefly looking up into the rear view mirror at Tori, "Tori, your dad, he's still a cop right?" Cat asked, hoping that Tori's response would put Cat's plan into action.  
"I don't know" Tori responded with a sigh. "You don't know? what do you mean you don't know? how can you not know? he's your dad!" Cat yelled becoming more and more angry, gripping the steering wheel so tightly she could feel the nails she had freshly manicured this morning beginning to dig into the material.  
"I haven't seen him since I moved out" Tori answered Cat with no change of emotion in her voice, Cat felt her blood boil at this point and ruthlessly slammed on the brakes, causing the car to come to a screeching halt.

The car was silent as it finally did come to a stop in the middle of the road, Cat still had her hands gripped tightly on the steering wheel and she was staring forward down the empty road, gritting her teeth tightly.  
"Get out" Cat said looking back at Tori, "excuse me?" she questioned with disbelief in her voice, "you heard me" Cat said removing her seat belt and opening her own door, moving around to open the door for Tori, leaning in the car slightly to look her dead in the eyes.  
"You and me need to have a little chat Tori" Cat said inviting Tori out of the car, she shuffled along slightly keeping the child held tightly to her chest, "no, leave him here, with James, please" Cat was scared to ask Tori something so personal because she had no idea what it could do, it could have triggered something much much worse. "Its okay, you can trust him, I do" Cat tried to assure Tori it was okay, Tori looked at James in the passenger seat and then back to Cat, who despite being angry had a genuine look of concern in her eyes, Tori nodded feeling as though she could still trust Cat and she leaned forward, tentatively handing the child to James, looking down his peaceful face as she had managed to get him back to sleep, "I'll be right outside, I promise" she said stroking his cheek as she handed him over, looking at James who just nodded at her, "he'll be okay I promise".

Tori finally stepped out of the car and Cat closed both the back door and her door, leading Tori off the street onto the sidewalk.

"Why did we have to be outside for this?" Tori complained as the rain was still heavily pouring down.

"Because it might get loud and I don't want to shout in front of... your son" Cat explained, a bit hesitant to say the words herself, it seemed to make it feel a little more real once she did.

"Well what did you want to say Cat?" Tori asked as she waited.

"This is him isn't it Tori!" Cat yelled stepping closer getting right in Tori's face, startling her.  
"This is Max isn't it? he's the one that's made you like this, he turned you into this person, and he's the father of your child isn't he?" Cat was shouting loudly only a mere few inches from Tori's face.  
"Yes..." Tori sighed looking down.

Cat stepped back needing a moment to think, wanting nothing more than to just slap Tori right across the face, not because she was mad or she hated Tori she just hated what Tori had become, this lifeless shell of a girl once so happy and cheerful her mere presence would brighten the day of just about anyone, it pained Cat to see her this way and she knew she couldn't let Tori walk out of her life again, she blamed herself enough for letting it happen once. was it a mistake? she didn't know but she always blamed herself like it was, she had hoped putting it all on the line would allow Tori to see sense and to finally walk away from it all but she didn't, and honestly that felt like a knife through Cat's heart, its selfish and she knew that, putting her friendship on the line like that but what other choice did she have?.

"Why did you let him do this to you Tori? why did you let him change you? you were the happiest girl I knew before you met him, now... now I don't even recognize you, you're not the girl that would come up with some incredible plan to get us out of a foreign prison or drive hundreds of miles with me in rain worse than thisto the house of some actress I thought was dead, you were my best friend and he ruined that, he took you away from me and it hurt me so much because I had to watch it happen, I had to watch you change. I saw that smile of yours disappear Tori. I saw the hope drain from your eyes. I saw you change. And no matter how hard I tried to get you back he just pulled you down deeper and you did nothing to fight it"

Tori was silent as Cat felt herself pouring her heart out to her once more the same way she had done all those years ago and once again Cat felt as though Tori was barely listening.  
Cat couldn't take it anymore, the rage that had been building inside her was at a breaking point now and it had to be released.  
She finally couldn't hold it in anymore and she slapped Tori harshly across the face shocking both of the girls, and James who was trying his best not to watch from within the car.  
"Listen to me Tori! please! I know you're still in there!" Cat begged and pleaded in Tori's face as she stared into the cold, soulless eyes, "I made a mistake years ago, I never should have let you leave, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let it happen again, especially now that its not just your life at stake, its your sons too" Cat felt herself on the verge of tears but she wasn't going to let keep her thoughts in any longer.

"I'm not going to let this happen Tori, I can't sit idly by again and watch another life be ruined at the hands of a vicious sociopath, you know it isn't right Tori, no child should ever have to live like that. What will he think when he sees his own father shouting at his own mother? I've heard the things he calls you and I can't even begin to imagine how much worse those things have become. and if he sees his father hitting his mother? because I wouldn't put something so disgusting past him, you can't want your child to live like that Tori, you can't want your child to come from a broken home, you don't want your child to look at his mother and wonder why she's afraid of his father, because that's all you are Tori. You're scared of him! and that fear has broken you, and its alienated you from your friends and your family too. You say you haven't seen your dad since you moved out, that's because he made you move out isn't it? and you were too scared to see them because you knew he had threatened Trina before and you knew you couldn't say anything because he'd do exactly that again. You're the only person that can make this all go away Tori, you're the only person who's ever been able to make it go away, but if you can't stand up and speak then no one will listen, its domestic abuse, in those cases unless the victim is willing to admit what's going on nothing can be done, because if I go to them its just my word against his and you'd swear blind that he'd never hit you until you were blue in the face and the moment they left and you closed the door he'd hit you once again! Do you have any idea how much it hurts me? knowing as much as I want to help you I'm powerless to unless you help me right back? you can't live your life in fear Tori, you can't just keep yourself locked away in this prison like state because you're scared!"

SMACK

Just as Cat had finished her speech she was stunned into silence as she felt Tori slap her square across the face.  
"I know!" she yelled at Cat with rage and anger in her voice, showing signs of emotion for the first time in years, "I know I'm scared Cat, do you think I don't fucking know that? Its the first thought I have when I wake up and the last thought I have when I go to bed at night!" she began to channel the burning rage inside her into her words.  
"So why don't you do anything about it?" Cat tried to question but she was cut off by another slap. "You're going to shut up and let me finish" Tori commanded.

"I know I'm scared Cat, but what can I do? what can I possibly do? talk to someone about it? I haven't got any friends because he's either scared them away or I've just been so naive and scared I pushed them away!" Tori was breaking down in front of Cat, tears were streaming down her face as years and years of pent up frustration seemed to finally be finding its way to the surface.

"This life has broken me. He... has broken me" Tori said in a calmer tone stepping forward putting her hands on Cat's shoulders looking her in the eye, Cat knew she was on the verge of tears as she felt like she was speaking to Tori, the real Tori for the first time in years, sure it had been years since they had even seen each other but the lifeless, empty person Tori had been reduced to back then meant even if Cat tried to remember the happy memories the pair shared much like Tori herself they were becoming alienated and filled with a dark underlying tone as Cat always knew just what the person in her memories would eventually be turned into. Even now despite Cat feeling like she was seeing the Tori she remembered it still didn't feel like the same girl because of all the years of hurt one monster had brought.

"But... I am not about to let the same thing happen to my son, I'll go to the ends of the earth to protect him." Tori sighed as she finally broke down, feeling her voice break into a sob as she pulled Cat in close. Finally confessing to Cat exactly how she felt, by now she was used to living in this messed up so called life she had but it took her having a son that she may or may not have even wanted to begin with to let her see just how wrong it is and when she had two lives to worry about it made the situation a whole lot worse, but in a way it was the kick she needed to finally wake up and see just how wrong it all was, and to finally stand up for herself. Tori knew the moment she lay her eyes upon him in the delivery room that he was hers, he was actually her son and she would be willing to die before she'd let harm come to him. Tori wasn't telling Cat all of this to beg for forgiveness, she was telling her all of this because she was begging for help in protecting her son.

Cat immediately did the same hugging Tori as tightly as she possibly could, feeling some faint connection with the girl she once knew, it wasn't a rekindled friendship in fact it was still the farthest thing from, but Cat knew that there in front of her was a girl pleading for her help, she was just too scared to ever be able to say it.  
"I'm not going to let that happen to your son either Tori" she whispered softly, never wanting the hug to end.

As James watched on from the car, cradling the sleeping child in his arms, he smiled to himself as he saw the two girls embrace.  
He was distracted from this moment of peace however by the sound of a ringing phone from behind him in the backseat, using one arm to hold Tori's son he reached back with the other to retrieve the ringing phone and looked at the name on the screen.

"Max"

* * *

 **Well that will be all for that chapter I hope you enjoyed, man it was a tricky one to write that's for sure I kept getting frustrated in places and going back to change things.  
Still nonetheless I do hope you enjoyed it as I am very much enjoying this story at the moment and I would love to continue it for you**


	4. The Road Ahead

**Hello once again, its been a few days since I've given writing a new chapter a go because I'm trying to connect all the ideas I've either had or am having in regards to this story and I can hopefully string them all together exactly as I would hope to.  
Again a huge thank you to those that have taken the time to review as usual it always helps in terms of motivation to continue and also gives me fresh ideas too.  
So without further ado, we'll pick up right where we left off.**

* * *

Silence, well... almost complete silence as the two girls embraced, the only sound being that of the unrelenting rain that was still pouring down. But neither Cat nor Tori cared in the slightest, the only thing Tori cared about in this current moment was her once best friend that she had unexpectedly crossed paths with once more, and despite Tori's car crash of a life thus far she couldn't help but smile inwardly and be happy for all of Cat's success, Tori always thought if any of her friends from school deserved to become a star it had to be Cat; purely because of how friendly and heartwarming she is.  
And the only thing Cat cared about was Tori right back, clinging onto her like a frightened child, too afraid to let go. There was a point during this eventful night where Cat rued ever getting out of the car, but as the events of the night progressed Cat began to feel glad that she had done, at the end of the day it wasn't just Tori after all.

James meanwhile was stuck in the midst of a conundrum of his own as he held the still ringing phone in one hand and used the other to cradle Tori's sleeping child, he pondered answering the phone but he knew just by the name on the screen that read "Max" exactly who it was, Cat had mentioned him in the past whether it had been a bad dream or if she was just reminiscing about times gone by that she had spent with her friends, and hearing Cat say the same name again tonight meant the decision on whether or not to answer the phone was essentially being made for him; don't.

After an agonizing wait the phone stopped ringing, briefly. Despite James breathing a heavy sigh of relief as it stopped the silence was quickly broken once more by the phone beginning to ring yet again with same name still across the screen.  
He thought about denying the call but as it was Tori's phone Max would believe it were Tori that was doing so which would just add more fuel to the already volatile situation that could ignite at any second.  
Once again though the phone eventually rang out. James prepared to hear the phone begin to ring once more but instead it was a text message.

The phone made a noise to signal a text notification once, and then another, and then another, James still had the phone in his hand and curiosity was beginning to take control of him, he tentatively went to unlock Tori's phone. There was no pass code or password required which James was expecting given how overbearing and controlling James was chances were he was constantly going through Tori's phone looking for a reason, or maybe just an excuse to take his anger out on her.

He wondered if it were a good idea to do, on one hand if he were to delete the messages Tori wouldn't have to see them which would no doubt scare her and upset her and probably make the situation worse, however if he did delete them Max would be getting more and more impatient and angry with Tori which could lead to the situation again becoming worse.  
Once again the phone buzzed and this time he had no choice, he had to see what the messages were saying.

"Where the fuck are you you stupid bitch" was the first message he had sent her tonight. James noted there weren't any other messages from Max to look back through, chances were he was making Tori delete them, there weren't any other messages from anyone else in Tori's phone either, which either meant Max was making her delete all of her text messages or she was so alone in her hell of a so called life that she just wasn't receiving any.  
Curious to know the answer, James decided to check Tori's contacts before looking through any other messages.  
To no real surprise the only number in Tori's contacts on her phone belonged to Max, James felt an immediate wave of sympathy toward Tori seeing this, wondering how a girl that Cat had described as so confident and friendly had been reduced to this, forgotten by the world as it passed her by.

As James was about to go back to check the messages however he heard the car door open and he looked up immediately, fearing it may be Max. Only to be relieved to see Cat's worried stare looking back at him, "what's wrong honey?" Cat questioned as she could see the fear in him, briefly looking away to ensure Tori was once again in the car before she herself sat down, closing the door but never taking her eyes off James.  
"What is it James?" she asked again and rather than reply he raised his arm and attempted to hand her the phone, Tori saw this and sat up a little. "Is it... Max?" Tori asked tentatively, afraid to know the answer but at the same time she was already certain that's the only person it could be.

Cat took the phone as it buzzed for another text message, she looked at Tori who was clearly scared but nodded giving Cat the go ahead to open up the messages.  
Cat prepared herself for whatever horrors she may see before opening up the messages, going through the texts that all seemed to ask the same question yet managed to become more and more vulgar each time, Cat sighed reading them, they were reminding her exactly who Max was and exactly how dangerous he was, and since five years had passed since she last saw him she was in no doubts over whether or not he had become any worse.

Cat deleted the text messages as she thought Tori shouldn't have to see them, but as she went to put the phone down it started to ring again.

"Max"

The car was silent barring the ringing phone, Cat, James and Tori all sat in silence unsure of what to do while the child who Cat and James still did not know the name of remained fast asleep.  
Cat breathed deeply as she braced herself, she knew she had to answer it regardless of what Tori might tell her.  
She decided the smart thing to do would be to get out of the car to allow Tori the pleasure of not having to hear any of the conversation.  
"I'll be right outside" Cat assured the pair of worried looks as she once again stepped out into the unrelenting rain, waiting until the car door was shut and she had walked across to the sidewalk before pressing answer, bringing the phone to her ear.

"H-" but before Cat could even begin to speak she was cut off by him, "WHY THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN IGNORING ME BITCH?!" he yelled loudly into the phone, causing Cat to move it away from her ear a little. "To-" as Cat went to speak once again she was cut off, "TELL ME WHERE THE FUCK YOU ARE RIGHT NOW!" he demanded, just by talking to him on the phone it made Cat uneasy, thinking about the last time she had ever heard his voice through a phone; she was talking to Tori, who was staying at Max's in the evening about a homework assignment when she heard a loud slam followed by him yelling at Tori who tried to speak back but was cut off by what sounded like a slap in the face, he demanded that Tori hang up the phone and Tori pleaded with him saying it was important and that it was for school but he didn't believe her, instead he hit her and accused her of calling the police, the last thing Cat heard before the phone line went dead was Max shouting "I told you to hang up the phone!" sounding as if he were lunging toward her and Tori beginning to scream as if he were about to do something vile to her. Cat had nightmares as she wondered what he may have done that night.

"WELL?! ANSWER ME!" he yelled again into the phone bringing Cat back to reality, she knew she had no choice but to confront the bully head on.  
"Tori isn't here" she said confidently, despite inwardly feeling afraid. "So who the fuck is this then?" he asked, reducing the volume of his voice immediately, "what you don't remember me? because I sure remember you, Max" Cat answered him trying her best to keep this confidence going in the hope it may help Tori in some way.  
"I don't care who you are bitch, I just want to know where Tori is, now!" Cat could tell he was becoming increasingly impatient. "So you can hit her again? and here I was thinking us catching up would be a good thing" Cat teased a little, almost mocking him, not entirely sure why she did it but what she did know was if he were to target Cat in any way she wouldn't think twice about going to the police.  
"Tell me who you are" he didn't really demand this time it was more of a concern and Cat could tell immediately by the change in his tone of voice that it was exactly that.

"Don't worry about who this is, Tori is safe, she's with me and I'm not about to let harm come to her or her son, you don't scare me" Cat felt proud of herself for how well she was handling the situation, hoping he would calm down to avoid making things worse.  
"I know who this is, this is that dumb bitch Valentine isn't it?" Cat felt her blood run cold and a shiver go down her spine as he spoke, "I thought I recognized your voice, I must say you've done alright for yourself haven't you? fancy record label and all that, I just want Tori and my son, that's it, no harm has to come to you or anyone you care about if you just give me Tori" he spoke so calmly it turned Cat's stomach, she felt herself panicking as she didn't know what to do next.  
"I care about Tori, my answer is no." Cat hung the phone up before he could reply and turned it off.

She sat back in the car and wasted no time in starting it up and heading off once more.  
James and Tori exchanged a concerned look before both turning their attention back to Cat. "Is everything okay?" James asked, "call Anthony" Cat responded swiftly, handing him her purse, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her, "what should I say?" he questioned further as he took Cat's phone, "just call him and give me the phone, I'll do the talking" she still kept her eyes firmly affixed on the road ahead.

James did as he was told and went through Cat's phone to find Anthony in her contacts, he was Cat's bodyguard, Cat didn't want a bodyguard but because of her status and increasing popularity she knew she needed one, for the most part he was just there as a "just in case" deal but every now and then he would be thrown into the line of duty in order to protect Cat, the most memorable of these moments came very early on in Cat's career; it was actually how they met and he became her bodyguard in the first place. She was still a rookie in terms of "being a celebrity" and she had not yet hired a bodyguard. This experience definitely made her do so however as she wasn't used to the whole paparazzi deal at the time, so when she was swarmed by a huge group of them as she exited a store, along with an unexpected mass of fans the situation became entirely overwhelming for Cat. Within seconds she was surrounded and she had no idea what she was going to do, she felt hands all over her from every direction as fans began yelling questions and shouting their undying love for Cat while all desperate to get a picture with her. this along with the constant flashing from the cameras was really disorienting for Cat who could feel herself becoming increasingly dizzy as she struggled to get out of the mass crowd.  
Unbeknownst to Cat she had walked out into the road and a reckless driver was speeding down the road in her direction being pursued by the police, probably some stupid kid without his license taking his dads car for a joyride and he panicked when the police wanted him to pull over.  
Regardless of the circumstance this car was on a direct collision course with Cat who was still entirely blind to her surroundings as she continued to struggle to get free, dazed and confused. She remembered hearing the loud horn of the car as it drew closer and several people yelling "look out!" as the crowd quickly dispersed leaving Cat directly in the path of the speeding car, still slightly disoriented and blinded by the headlights Cat had absolutely no time to react and she feared the worse.

That is until she felt a force from beside her, two heavy arms wrapped around her and she was immediately swept off of her feet, Anthony himself was taking a break from work at the time and was out shopping with his wife and kids and when he saw the commotion and the crowd his instincts kicked in, he rushed out in front of the car showing no fear or concern for his own well being at the time wanting nothing more than to protect Cat.  
Cat remembered crashing into the floor, sure it was a painful experience but a few cuts and bruises was a lot better than being hit full on by a speeding car.  
When Anthony realized just who he had protected from the car he couldn't help but laugh, Cat was curious as to why this was and he explained that he was one of the people James had contacted in regards to becoming Cat's bodyguard, and at that moment Cat's decision was made for her and she knew she could trust Anthony with her life, that she now owed to him.

"Hello?" he answered on the other side, sounding tired, and who could blame him it was almost the middle of the night and being a full time bodyguard along with having a wife and two kids Cat always wanted to give him days off to allow him to get the rest he needed.  
"Anthony, hi I'm so sorry, did I wake you?" Cat asked sounding guilty as she hated calling people so late but she knew this was a serious matter and she had to do just that. "Sort of..." he paused to laugh a little, "is everything okay Miss Valentine?" he asked, immediately back in the role of Cat's bodyguard, "everything is fine right now but I could really use your help" she explained trying her best to sound calm to avoid getting him worried. "Of course, hang on I'll get ready I won't be long" he said as he stood up out of bed heading for the bathroom, "okay, listen Anthony I need you to meet me at my house okay? and I need you to promise me you'll get there as quickly as you can" Cat continued to explain trying her best not to let the fear become apparent but it was hard to do so as she knew she was dealing with someone very dangerous.

"Of course Miss Valentine I'll see you soon" he said confidently and Cat nodded, "thank you so much, I'll see you soon, bye" she hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief, at least that had gone right.  
She looked in the rear view mirror briefly at Tori and as she approached a red light she figured it would be the perfect time to let the others know what she had in mind.  
"Tori you're going to come and stay with us for a while okay? we'll keep you safe and you can go to the police and make a statement and that psycho can finally be put exactly where he belongs" Cat gripped the steering wheel tightly as she wished nothing but the worse upon Max for everything he had put Tori through, and Cat knew given the way she had seen Tori earlier on that Tori wanted exactly the same for the sake of keeping her son safe.  
Tori nodded as she met Cat's eyes in the rear view mirror, "okay Cat" she said quietly, sure she wanted exactly the same as Cat and she knew she had to keep her son safe but she was still living in fear of him, she had been for years it wasn't exactly something she could just turn off but she forced herself to go through with it, she saw an opportunity to get out of it and to ensure a better life for herself and her son she knew it was the right thing to do.

"By the way Tori..." Cat started before she paused as she looked down at the child in James' arms, still fast asleep, entirely unaware of all that was going on around him, he looked so peaceful. Cat gently ran her finger along his cheek as she looked down at him, being pulled from her daydream as the light turned green and she once again set off toward her house, almost forgetting what she was going to ask. "you haven't told us his name yet?"

* * *

 **And that is where we're going to end it for this chapter, I do hope you enjoyed it.  
Don't worry I'm not having the name of Tori's son be a cliffhanger before you wonder lol, instead I thought a good idea would be to ask some of you to suggest a name for him, so if you would like to do so I'd love to hear your suggestions, and as always I hope you enjoyed.**


	5. The Calm Before The Storm

**And we are back once more.  
I know the chapters are starting to get a bit more spaced out, I hope that's not a problem I'm trying to keep the updates frequent and fluent as best I can while juggling everything else going on in my life, I've also had a minor throat problem over the last few days that's been more of an annoyance than anything else so I won't bore you with the details but I will say I'm fully committed to this story.  
As usual I really appreciate the reviews and I always try to ensure those who are kind enough to leave them know that and just how much they help me.  
There weren't many suggestions in terms of a name for Tori's yet to be named son although I do appreciate the suggestions given, and after a while of talking about it with a friend who knows who she is, and no I'm not going to name him "Mr" lol, I do believe I've reached a conclusion and have made a decision on what the name will be, so without further ado once more, we can carry on.**

* * *

"Dale" Tori spoke softly as she watched Cat trace her finger ever so slightly along his delicate cheek, doing her best not to disturb his peaceful slumber.  
"Dale?" Cat asked Tori, briefly looking in her direction as she felt a moment of peace fall over the car and everyone inside it on what had thus far been an eventful and un-enjoyable night for everyone besides the child who had been asleep for the most part, Tori nodded and Cat smiled looking back at her. "I like that, little Dale, sleeping through all of this, what a little bad ass" Cat laughed softly and James did too, nodding forward as he noticed the light was turning green, Cat looked back at the road and immediately gave it her full undivided attention once more as she set off. "And how old is Dale Tori?" James asked as the car began to move, "8 months" she replied.

After all the stops and starts that the three in the car had to put up with, not so much Dale who as mentioned prior had been sound asleep for the most part, they had finally arrived at the home Cat and James shared, stopping at the big heavy gate that was between them and the driveway up to the front door. Cat lowered her window and retrieved her key card from her purse, and with one quick swipe the light turned green and the heavy gate began to move, slowly but surely it disappeared off to the left and was now open for Cat to enter, which she duly obliged to doing so, rolling her window back up as the car began to move, hearing the gate begin to move once more as she drove passed it she couldn't help but stop right there and keep a firm eye on the rear view mirror, watching the gate as it slowly closed.  
Of course the reason for this was out of worry, for very obvious reasons Cat was concerned someone might one day slip past the gate while it was closing unbeknownst to Cat, and with everything that had gone on today and all the memories of just how sinister Max could be once again fresh in her mind Cat was extra cautious.  
Keeping a close eye on the open space that began to get slimmer and slimmer as the gate closed rather than the gate itself, James did the same and even Tori cautiously looked over her shoulder.

Cat could finally breathe a sigh of relief however as the gate finally closed and she was certain that she hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary. Finally satisfied she began to drive up towards the house.  
Tori looked through the front windshield as the huge manor drew closer and closer, she was in awe at how beautiful it was, and this was only the outside.  
"Wow..." she muttered to herself as she admired the house, "its nothing special" Cat laughed a little trying to play it off, but compared to the tiny apartment Tori had been living in it truly was something special.  
Cat pulled the car up at the end of the drive and retrieved the key from the ignition, she hopped out of the car and went around to get the door for James who stepped out with Dale still peacefully asleep in his arms, he quickly headed from the car over to the front door though as the heavy down pour of rain was still very much apparent.  
Cat also got the back door for Tori who still seemed nervous and afraid and understandably so as she couldn't just turn off 6 years of pain, torment and fear.  
She helped Tori out of the car and closed the door behind her, pressing the button on her key to lock all the doors, which the car responded with a very satisfying sound as all the doors locked simultaneously, she kept her arm around Tori's shoulders as the pair headed to the front door where James was waiting.

"Make yourself at home" Cat said with a smile in Tori's direction as the tall door opened to reveal the grand entrance to the home, a huge, stunning water fountain was the center piece with a staircase either that met as they reached the second floor, to Tori's surprise, and confusion the water fountain was almost silent despite the running water falling down the beautiful sculpture and collecting in the pool at the bottom, usually they weren't exactly silent due to the falling water but this one was as the water fell in such a way it looked like a transparent wall encasing the sculpture as it cascaded down to ground level with only a slight sound as it reached the pool at the bottom.

"This way Tori" Cat called as she brought Tori out of her awe like state as she stared at the fountain, Tori shook her head a little to snap herself out of it and she followed Cat through to the living room, "wow, this is bigger than my whole apartment" Tori said as she was once again in awe of the huge almost royal like living room.  
"Feel free to make yourself comfortable, do you want a drink? or something to eat maybe?" Cat asked signalling Tori to one of the two big corner sofas that were in the middle of the room facing the enormous television on the wall, James was already sitting down himself with little Dale still in his arms.  
"Just a... glass of water, that would be lovely thank you" Tori spoke nervously, feeling so out of place in Cat's home, "relax Tori, everything is going to be okay, no one is going to get in, that gate and the surrounding fence is far too tall to climb over and even if you were stupid enough to try such a thing the top of it is sharp enough to leave you without fingers, you can stay here for as long as you need, you can have a shower and get a good nights rest and we can talk to the police tomorrow okay?" Cat explained trying her best to reassure Tori, it really broke Cat's heart to see Tori so afraid of everything around her even if she was safe for the time being.  
"I'll be right back with your water" she said before disappearing off towards what Tori could only assume was the kitchen.

"Are you just going to stand there? come on I don't bite" James called Tori over from the sofa, "come on Tori, its okay, you're safe, I promise" he much like Cat was doing his utmost to reassure and calm her, and it seemed to work as Tori nodded slightly before walking over to take a seat near him on the sofa.  
"Cat's told me so much about you y'know" James began to speak as Tori sat down, "has she?" she asked sounding a little more relaxed at this point, curious to know what Cat had said about her. "Oh absolutely, she told me about all of the fun and crazy adventures and situations you two ended up in back at school, like getting stuck in an RV at the beach and nearly dying?" he laughed a little and Tori did so too remembering a happier time in her life, "yeah, you don't know how relieved I was when Cat opened that door, I truly thought I was going to die" she laughed slightly remembered that day all too well, how horrible the increasing temperature was becoming only to be saved by Cat opening the door and they could all finally enjoy a nice day out at the beach.

"She also told me about the first time she ever saw you" he continued, "it was at this big showcase that you guys did at your school every year? your sister was supposed to sing but if she did her tongue would've burst?" James asked seeming confused, Tori just laughed again thinking about that night too, "is that how Cat tells the story?" she asked with a giggle and he nodded.  
"What she means is, my sister Trina was supposed to do the performance, I didn't even go to the school at the time and I was somewhat forced into helping her rehearse, before the show she took some Chinese herb gargle that was supposed to make her sound really good but she had an allergic reaction and her tongue swelled up" Tori explained and James nodded "ah... that makes much more sense" he laughed a little more having always been confused when Cat told the story, but Cat herself never knew the full story as she had only been able to pass on the details that she knew.  
"So how did you end up performing?" he urged her to continue, "well since I had been watching her rehearse I was sort of thrown into the spotlight by Andre, he was the guy she was rehearsing with and he thought just because I knew the song and the choreography it'd be a good idea" she continued to explain.  
"And it was a good idea, in fact it was a fantastic one" Cat continued telling the story as she came back into the living room, handing Tori the glass of water she had requested, taking a seat on the other side of James, "she looked so nervous on that stage, heck she even tried to run off of it but once the music started and she began to sing it was like she evolved into this beautiful, confident woman, she commanded that stage and tore the house down, so much so she was offered a place at the school on the spot, even then she didn't think she was worthy of it but the cheers of the audience changed her mind" Cat smiled to herself as memories of that night filled her mind, taking her back, allowing her to remember Tori in a different light, the way Tori should still be, the person that she should still be, the person that was ruined.

Tori smiled herself as she remembered the night fondly too.  
"I think you should have a shower and head to bed Tori, you look like you need it, no offense" Cat said giggling a little as she stood up and put her hand out to Tori, who still looked nervous despite the best attempts to calm her down, "come on Tori, it'll be okay, Cat and I can watch Dale here and you can enjoy a nice hot shower and a good nights sleep and we can work on making things better in the morning" James said reassuring Tori who took Cat's hand and stood up, Cat smiled and looked at James, feeling so proud because of how well he was at calming people down and explaining things, Cat loved that about him, she always thought of it as one of the many reasons why he'd make such a wonderful father, and seeing him with a sleeping child in his lap really stirred the emotions for Cat, giving her a glimpse into her future in a way, the future she wanted for herself and James, a family she could call her own.

"Its just in here, you can leave your clothes in the hamper I'll make sure they're washed and dried for you first thing tomorrow, you can use one of the robes and when you're done I'll show you where the guest room is" Cat informed her as the pair headed upstairs to one of the bathrooms, the one Cat and James used most was the en suite bathroom attached to their bedroom, this was the communal bathroom that guests were invited to use should they need to, Tori nodded feeling an overwhelming sense of relief rush over her as for the first time in a long time she herself actually felt like she and her son were safe in Cat's home.  
"Are you okay Tori?" Cat asked as she noticed Tori was silent as the pair stood at the door, before Cat could question further Tori had wrapped her arms around Cat and was already clinging to her tightly, Cat couldn't help but meet Tori's embrace with one of her own as she wrapped her arms around Tori and held her tightly.

"Thank you Cat" Tori tried her best to avoid sobbing but the sound of her voice cracking mid sentence was enough to send her over the edge and she cried into Cat's shoulder as the pair embraced, Cat responded by tightening her grip and rubbing her hand over Tori's back softly, "its okay Tori, I only want whats best for you and your son, I'm always going to be that friend you need, don't you remember? sisters until the very end right?" Cat asked feeling her eyes beginning to fill with tears, remembering the pact she and Tori had made to be "sisters until the very end" heck she still had the friendship bracelet Tori had given her that night, sure she may not have particularly wanted to see Tori tonight, or ever for that matter after that faithful night at her house with Max, but that was never because Cat hated Tori as a person or as a friend it was because she hated what Tori had become, Tori was always going to be the sister Cat never had in Cat's eyes, one way or another.  
"Until the very end" Tori whispered as she too remembered the occasion well, causing both girls to tighten their grip on one another.

After a while Cat released the hug and eased back, wiping her eyes slightly as she met Tori's.  
She used her thumb to wipe Tori's teary eyes and gave her a reassuring smile, "you'll be okay Tori, I promise" she kept her hands on Tori's cheeks as she wiped her eyes, Tori nodded and whispered "thank you" to her once more.  
"Okay I'm going to leave you to your shower as I'm sure you don't need help with that" Cat said humorously causing both girls to share a bit of a chuckle.  
As Cat turned on her heels and began to walk away she was stopped by Tori, "hang on Cat" she said causing her to turn back around, Tori went into her the pocket on her jacket and she retrieved an empty baby's bottle and handed it to Cat, "is milk okay or do I need formula? because I can get some" Cat asked sounding nervous, "warm milk is fine, but not too warm just put it in the microwave for about ten seconds, he only needs half a bottle at night, besides I can never afford formula anyway" Tori explained and Cat nodded feeling a tug at the heart strings.

With Tori now enjoying her shower Cat made her way back downstairs and headed straight for the kitchen, she retrieved the milk from the fridge and filled the bottle only half way per Tori's instruction she made sure the lid was fastened and turned it over to ensure that the milk was coming out of the teat, she only thought to do that because she had seen it done on television and in movies, when she was sure everything was in order she put it in the microwave for ten seconds, once done she retrieved the bottle and made sure it wasn't too warm, once again allowing a few drops to fall on the back of her hand.  
Once Cat was finally sure everything was as it should be she headed back out to James who was watching the TV with Dale now awake in his arms but he wasn't crying or anything he was calm, Cat had heard a bit of noise coming from him as she initially passed them on her way to the kitchen anyway so she thought it'd be the right time for the milk.

"Tori okay?" James asked as he noticed Cat coming over, she nodded and sat down beside him, resting her head on his shoulder looking down at Dale, "hi there!" she smiled joyfully as she looked down at him, he was so cute to her, but then again Cat always loved babies anyway.  
"He's so precious isn't he?" she asked James as she reached down to gently run her hand across his cheek much like she did in the car, "I think the little guy is hungry but he's been so patient bless him" James explained and Cat looked at him, "maybe that's because you're a natural with kids" she said with a soft giggle as she leaned over to kiss him, something about seeing him take such good care of the baby really moved Cat, she was already head over heels in love with James but this just melted Cat's heart and she knew deep down she couldn't wait until the pair had their own child.  
"I bet he'll be relieved to see this then" Cat smiled as she held the bottle up in front of him, and his immediate reaction to reach out with both hands was the confirmation of that, causing both Cat and James to laugh. "Okay, here you go honey" she smiled and she held the bottle for him to drink from, Cat felt his tiny hands touch the back of her hand as he began to drink, "awe" Cat cooed as she watched him, James put his arm around Cat's shoulders and invited her closer, the pair exchanged a look and a smile before turning their attention back to Dale, enjoying the moment of sheer peace.

Elsewhere however was not so pleasant as Max was trying desperately to call Tori and his patience was wearing increasingly slim as every time it would go straight to voice mail as Cat had turned it off, after one try too many he snapped and threw it at the wall, deciding to take a different approach he sat down and paused for a moment to think before having an idea, he retrieved his laptop and immediately opened up the search engine on the internet. He knew exactly what he was going to type and wasted little time doing so, reading his words aloud as he typed them before hitting enter.

"Cat Valentine home address"

* * *

 **That shall be where we leave it for this chapter, I quite enjoyed this one and I myself thought it turned out quite well and I do hope you enjoyed it too.**


	6. The Storm

**And we are back. Yet again.**

 **As always I want to express my gratitude towards the reviews left, I could sit here and talk about how its always refreshing to hear feedback on my work and how it motivates me to do more and to improve upon myself for the purpose of my work and for the purpose of those who read it but I've done that enough already so you know the drill by now.**

 **One thing I would like to address however in some of the reviews I have seen people have been posting about this story ending on a "short and uneventful" topic, in the sense of the police being called and Max being apprehended and what have you, what I will say is my intentions for this story were never for it to be immensely long and as I sit here and ponder where this current chapter will go, the ideas I've had for this story as a whole have been based on the concept of a short story, like right now I'd say there will be two more chapters, three at the most including this one to come, as I liked the idea a lot more, also working on a huge 10+ or 20+ or even 30+ chapter story can drag on a bit and can become a bit of a chore, in my experiences anyway, not that I don't enjoy doing so I just don't think I'd be able to manage one now given that I'm busy in other aspects of my life.**

 **So the whole point of this "note" if you will is to say I appreciate your comments and such, but if you think I'd settle for a bland story you're clearly unfamiliar with me lol, I do have plans on giving this story the "big" moment and it's not too far off, as I've said I only see a few chapters left with this story, but nevertheless I do plan to make those interesting and enjoyable, so without further ado we shall carry on where we left off.**

* * *

"So that's where the little bitch lives?" Max asked himself aloud, after searching for Cat's home address the search engine spat out thousands upon thousands of results, but in this day and age if what you're searching for isn't on the first page of your search engine, you're probably not going to find it on the next hundred or thousand.  
And to no real surprise given how the internet dominates all forms of life these days the first result to come up was exactly what Max was looking for, a convenient page with Cat's full home address on it. It even had pictures that seemed to be taken by a drone, and records of those who lived there. This whole website was dedicated to Cat in a very creepy way, the owner was profusely obsessed with Cat and seemed to know more about her than even she did, but with fame and popularity you're bound to get a few "out there" people too, Max didn't waste time in questioning this weird obsession that this person clearly had with Cat because he had already found what he came for and made sure to take the address down. And while he was at it; look up just how to get there.

He thought about going right there and then but decided against it, however he knew that Cat knew who he was and she would waste little time in contacting the authorities in regards to the matter, so he knew he'd have at most 24 hours before the police would be involved so he had to act fast.  
He himself wasted little time in getting to work thinking of a plan to get in, obviously Cat's house was well protected but only by a big gate and a large fence for the most part but that didn't exactly make it easy for him as climbing a huge fence like that would be a tricky task in itself and given the short space of time he had to plan he'd probably be doing so in broad daylight as well would not make the task at all manageable, so he thought of other ways to potentially get in while he lay down in bed staring at the ceiling.

The next thing he knew it was the morning time, well... the late morning time. It had already past 11am.  
He must have fallen asleep without even realizing because he had no apparent recollection of doing so, last thing he could recall was thinking on how he'd be 'dealing' with Cat.  
By now he still hadn't been able to come up with a cunning plan but lets face it he wasn't really the sharpest tool in the shed or the brightest bulb in the box, but his intimidating stature and mentality meant he wouldn't let anyone tell him that.  
So by this point he had two options, option one; go to Cat's house and maybe then he can come up with a way in. Or option two; do nothing, and with there being a high chance Cat had already called the police and they could well already be on their way over that wouldn't last long.  
So he was left with one choice and that was to go to Cat's address, and with the piece of paper that had just that written down he was already ready to get going, but before he did so, he made sure to take the largest and most threatening knife he had, which was conveniently a hunting knife.  
With the knife tucked away out of sight he headed out of the apartment, down to street level and across the road to the bus stop, which was pretty much directly opposite the building he and Tori live in, but the possibilities of what may happen over the following few hours left him to think that it probably wouldn't be "their" apartment much longer.

Before long a bus had arrived and he took his seat ready to head off, as he did so however he noticed a police car come down the street and it stopped right outside the apartment building, he turned away from the window to avoid being seen as he was certain they were here looking for him, despite the "not so friendly" neighbourhood, the police could have been for anyone but he wasn't taking any chances and waited until the bus had gone down the street and taken a corner before looking out the window once more.

After about an hour and a half and three different bus rides Max found himself approaching Cat's house, walking down the street towards it he figured the right idea would be to walk by and see if there was anything he could possibly see.  
To no great surprise he saw a police car parked outside, not directly in the way of the gate however to allow vehicle entry or exit, there was also a police officer standing in front of the gate itself.  
He kept his head down as he walked past to avoid drawing any attention, taking a few brief looks at the house and the fence to try and see a way in, but to his distraught there wasn't one.  
He carried on down to the end of the street and turned a corner, thinking there may be a way in from this side, but because Cat's house was "detached" the huge fence went right the way around no matter where Max tried to go there wasn't any way he could possibly gain entry without drawing attention.  
He felt himself on the verge of panicking, seeing the police already at Cat's house as well as the ones at the apartment previous meant he knew he had little time to work with and had to come up with something and he had to do so fast. He didn't stop to think however he kept on walking heading away from Cat's house to avoid drawing attention to himself at all costs, after a few minutes of walking away from Cat's house he figured he was far enough to stop and think, trying to come up with a way in but falling short with every attempt, until a van stopped beside him and the window came down, he felt the urge to run immediately fearing it was the police but once he realized it was only a mechanic's van he could be calm, "excuse me, do you have any idea where this address is?" he asked handing him a piece of paper, and when he saw both the name, and the address on the paper his jaw almost hit the floor.

It was as if he had been blessed or something because here right in front of him was the perfect ticket, this mechanic was headed to Cat's house for some purpose or another and chances were Cat and/or James were expecting him so he'd be granted access.  
With only seconds to think of a plan he turned back to the mechanic who was waiting on an answer, he also had his phone in his hand, a clear sign that he had attempted to call Cat but wasn't getting any luck. "this place? yeah I know where it is, actually its..." before he could finish he quickly lunged and grabbed the phone out of his hand before taking off running down the street, he heard the door of the van open and could hear the mechanic yelling after him as he ran down the street, not with the intention of getting away but with the intention of luring him away from the van, he thought about taking him some place secluded but the street they were on was completely quiet so he figured now was the best chance to strike.

Max slowed to a stop and turned to see the mechanic running toward him, without a second thought he reached into his back pocket and produced the knife, pointed right at the mechanic who stopped dead in his tracks.  
Quickly assessing the situation further Max knew he had the mechanic exactly where he wanted him, now he just needed to get the van, but before that however he needed the "uniform" that the mechanic was wearing, well it was more of a shirt with the company logo on than a uniform to be fair.  
"give me your shirt, and your keys, right now" Max demanded, keeping his voice low to avoid attention being drawn, "what? are you out of your mind? fuck off!" the mechanic however wasn't worried about shouting and Max knew that he'd have to be dealt with quickly.

Without a slight hesitation Max lunged at the mechanic and wrestled him to the ground, clearly trying to get his shirt off and to get his van keys off him.  
Max panicked a little as he attempted to do so and stabbed the mechanic in his leg quickly, causing him to turn all his attention to that, he yelped in pain and as he reached down Max withdrew the knife leaving a freshly open wound that was already bleeding heavily. Seizing his opportunity Max was able to easily pull the shirt off the now defenseless mechanic and retrieve his keys from his pocket. Once he was satisfied he bolted toward the van, immediately knowing that he now had even less time to act and he had to get to Cat's house before the mechanic could report his van as stolen.

He hopped in van and quickly threw the company shirt on over his plain white shirt, putting the keys in the ignition and quickly heading off, knowing exactly where it was that he was headed to.  
Within minutes he was approaching Cat's house once more in the van and he turned toward the gate slowly, knowing as he did so he'd be stopped by the officer in front of the gate, no problem he thought, he had the paper with Cat's address on it, and with the van and the shirt and the fact that they were clearly expecting a mechanic he was sure he'd be let in without any concerns.  
Rolling his window down he handed the officer the paper immediately, "sorry if I'm late, I had a bit of trouble finding the place" he explained calmly while the officer read over the paper handed to him, he paused briefly before handing the paper back to him, "wait here" he said while walking up to the gate, pressing a button on the side to call up to the house, Max couldn't hear the conversation fully but before long the police officer had looked back at him and nodded, and he watched as the big heavy gate began to slide open to allow him access, he was in.

* * *

"Morning Tori, how'd you sleep?" Cat asked happily as Tori came walking into the kitchen yawning and rubbing her eyes, "you really slept well didn't you?" James asked laughing a little, "the moment your head hit the pillow you were out like a light, sound asleep, its nearly 11 Tori" Cat laughed as she watched her still drowsy friend walk into the kitchen, inviting her to sit down beside James she had already prepared her some breakfast which she placed in front of her.  
"Where's Dale?" Tori asked before eating, "relax Tori he's fine, he's just asleep, he was up a lot earlier than you were and he woke me up, I've actually just gotten him back to sleep" Cat explained with a little chuckle making sure she had Tori reassured.

"Oh by the way..." Cat began as she motioned to someone behind Tori, Tori turned around to see a police officer approaching, she looked back at Cat with fear in her eyes, "relax Tori..." Cat did her best to comfort her friend as she knew the situation would be a tough one for Tori to handle but she also knew if she didn't handle it know it would only get worse and worse and worse.  
"I've already explained everything, as best I could anyway, I told them how he was a few years ago and how there's no doubt in my mind he's worse now, they just want to ask you a few things Tori" Cat explained the situation as best she could to Tori who nodded, turning to face the police officer once more.

"Okay Miss Vega, we've heard enough, we'll get some people over to the apartment now to see if he's there and I'll stay here by the front gate to ensure nobody gets in" he explained a little as he stood up, collecting his notes which included all the things Tori had told him about Max, as much as it hurt her and it scared her she knew she had to do so.

"Oh just so you know, we've got the mechanic coming over today so when he shows up just let me know and he should be alright to come in, and also I think Tori needs some new clothes and some stuff for the baby so Anthony is going to take her shopping" Cat let the officer know of any ins or outs that he should be expecting since he was going to be manning the front gate ensuring access was very much limited.  
"Other than those two, nobody gets in, or out without my knowledge" Cat said firmly and the officer nodded, "understood Miss Valentine" he said as he headed down toward the gate.

Cat then turned and handed Tori a card, it was Cat's credit card, "go ahead, take it, please" Cat insisted and Tori did so, unsure what to do with it, "you heard what I said right? about Anthony taking you to get the things you need? no offense Tori but you really do need new clothes" Cat giggled a little "and of course you need some things for Dale so please, take that and buy whatever you need we'll take care of him don't worry, just don't go crazy Tori, I'm dreading the days I have kids of my own that want to take my credit card and go shopping with it" she laughed a little more and Tori did too, becoming more and more at ease with the ordeal.

She sat down in the back seat of the rather expensive looking car and shut the door behind her, relaxing in her seat.  
Cat leaned forward slightly as she spoke with Anthony who was in the front seat ready to head off, "make sure you've got eyes on her at all times okay, I think getting her out of here is the right call since if Max is going to come anywhere it'd be right here" Cat explained a little, anticipating that he may try and find her address and figured getting Tori away from the house, under the watchful protection of her trusted bodyguard was the right thing to do.  
"Understood Miss Valentine, from the moment we leave to the moment we return Tori is my number one priority and she will be treated as such" Cat smiled and nodded, "thank you, and if you're lucky I might let Tori get you something nice" she teased with a wink and a giggle, "oh and give this to Tori, in case I need to contact her" she said giving him a phone which probably only had one number on it and that number would no doubt be Cat's, waving them off as they left, making sure to watch them down the drive and out the gate before disappearing down the road.

* * *

"That must be the mechanic, its about time" James thought aloud as he heard the ringing from the gate, heading from the living room to go and answer it while Cat was sitting with Dale who was peacefully asleep after waking Cat up at the crack of dawn.  
"Okay no problem, let him through" he said into the phone before putting it down, opening the door to wait outside for the mechanic to arrive.

Before long he had done just that and James was leading the mechanic, or so he thought, into the house, explaining to him the problem.  
"It started about a week ago and it just hasn't stopped, I've tried everything but Cat's insisted I call you to stop the leak" he laughed a little as he led him through, "its just through here" he said heading through the living room, Cat looked over her shoulder and the moment she did her blood ran cold as she immediately recognized him.

"This is Cat by the way" he said to briefly introduce him to her as they headed through but Cat didn't respond, instead she just stood to her feet and stared at him silently, overcome with fear.  
"Cat? is everything okay?" James asked exchanging a look with who he thought was the mechanic since James had no idea what Max looked like.

"Cat?" he asked again, "James that's Max!" Cat yelled but before he could react Max had lunged toward him, withdrawing the large knife from his back pocket once more and drove it into James, stabbing him right in the stomach.

He pulled the knife out slowly and turned his attention to Cat as James dropped to the floor in a heap, both hands desperately holding his stomach that was already bleeding profusely, Cat felt the urge to jump to his aid but as she went to move he pointed the knife at her and stopped her dead in his tracks.

"Where is she?"

* * *

 **Ooohh, drama, yeah.**

 **That is where we shall leave it for now, as I've said there won't be much of this story left, in fact the next chapter will /probably/ be the last one.**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I enjoyed writing this chapter and I would love to know your thoughts.**

 **Until next time.**


	7. The Pieces That Remain

**And here we are.  
** **Apologies for the sudden lengthy wait between these last two chapters, my laptop decided to die once again leaving me without any means of writing this out properly, I could have done it on my phone or my tablet but I much prefer using a keyboard for this sort of thing. I don't know its just the way I am I guess.  
** **But my laptop is once again deciding to cooperate so I figured what better time to give it a go than now.  
** **Of course I'd once again like to express my gratitude towards all the comments regardless of what they may be, if they're good that lets me know I've done a good job and if they're "insightful" it helps me learn how to do better in the future.  
** **But I'm sure you must be bored of me repeating the same thing time and time again but that's honestly because I never get used to it.  
** **However I'm going to stop boring you now and get on with what you're no doubt here to see.**

* * *

"Where is she?" he spoke with a clear authority in his voice, the kind of tone that intimidates people. The kind of tone a bully might use to let the unfortunate party or... victims know who's in charge, although Cat wasn't exactly afraid of Max. Actually that isn't all true; she was afraid of him, she had always been afraid of him, she just knew if he ever did anything to her she wouldn't hesitate to do something about it.

But in this moment, as he stood there, over the body of the man Cat loved. The knife pointed straight in her direction, with his blood all over it, this was the moment Cat ultimately realized that. Sure she wouldn't necessarily back down from him but seeing him like this... seeing how dangerous he could actually be. That resonated with Cat, in a way it showed her just who he really was and how bad Tori must have had it all these years. Not only did Cat feel terrible thinking about how she must have suffered, she was frozen with fear, too scared to even speak, keeping her eyes locked on the knife, hoping beyond hope that it would stay where it was and not move toward her.

Occasionally she would dart her eyes downward to James who was laying still, he wasn't writhing around in pain as Cat thought he would be, she hadn't exactly seen anyone get stabbed before, well at least in person. But she didn't expect this, and the fact he didn't seem to move at all sent chills down her spine.  
His hands were still clasping his stomach and the rapidly increasing pool of blood on the hard wood floor made it very clear to Cat, if he wasn't dead already; he would be soon.

"Answer me!" the silence was finally broken as he bellowed at Cat, immediately making her eyes flick back from James to the knife, feeling another wave of fear rush over her as he spoke.  
Her eyes filled with tears and Cat trembled silently, so overcome with fear for her own life and those around her that she couldn't move, as much as she wanted to she just couldn't.

And then... bang.  
Cat felt it, she didn't see it coming but she definitely felt it. He slapped her right across the cheek and before she could react his hand was around her throat, the other holding the knife up in front of her eyes.  
"You're going to tell me where she is right now or you'll join your boyfriend over there" this time his tone was a lot calmer but his threatening manor still remained.  
"I... I don't... I don't know" Cat stuttered on her words, she could barely even see straight at this point as her eyes welled with tears causing her vision to blur.  
"Bullshit!" he yelled and took a strike at her stomach, from Cat's perspective he withdrew the hand that held the knife and Cat feared he was going to stab her, in a way being punched in the stomach was a relief, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt her.

Cat keeled over and dropped to her knees, instantly winded by the force of the strike, she opened her mouth to gasp for air but before she could inhale she was forced on to her back and he was immediately over her on one knee, his hand tight around her throat and the other holding the knife.  
"Don't think I won't kill you you little bitch" he spoke in such a calm tone it terrified Cat even more, he ran the tip of the knife along Cat's cheek as he did, taunting her in a way.

"I'm going to give you one final chance Cat, tell me where she is or you'll die right here next to your boyfriend" he practically whispered this time and Cat's blood ran cold, she was finally given an ultimatum and she knew his already slim patience had run out.  
In her mind she thought about what might happen if she told him, what he might do to Tori, and of course what Cat no doubt knew he would do to her, but Cat couldn't bare to think about it. She didn't want to entertain the thought of this monster getting his hands on Tori once again, in this state he could easily kill her, and that was too much for Cat to handle, she couldn't live with that, the blood would be on her hands, Tori's life was on the line and Cat thought she had suffered enough, she couldn't let it happen any longer, even if she had to give her own life.

"I can't tell you" Cat spoke clearly and calmly, surprising Max in many ways, he smirked a little and even managed a slight laugh.  
"To be honest, I admire that, bravery, willing to stand up for your friends, you're either naive and stupid or you're actually one tough bitch..." he seemed to be admiring Cat at this point, running the knife along her cheek once more.  
He leaned right down and Cat could feel his mouth just inches from her ear, "doesn't mean I'm not going to kill you though" he whispered into her ear and withdrew the knife.

Cat shut her eyes, held her breath and braced for it to happen.  
But just as he was about to end her life, he heard a noise.  
A crying sound, coming from the couch, he stopped mid motion and remained dead still as he listened, Cat could feel the tip of the knife pressed against her.  
He looked over his shoulder and slowly stood up, Cat thought about attempting to take the knife but even if she was brave, or had the element of surprise, she was still only a small girl and could easily be overpowered. Besides I don't think she'd be so lucky if she ended up the same situation again.

He stood to his feet and walked over to the couch, immediately noticing what, or who was making the noise, it was his son.  
He looked back at Cat, "I knew it, we'll just have to wait for Tori to get back then won't we?" he mocked Cat as he sat down, cradling Dale in his arms.  
Cat, who was still frozen with fear finally remembered James and looked over to him, she looked back at Max who shot her a glance and just laughed, "go ahead, he won't be breathing much longer anyway" the way he spoke made Cat's blood boil, she could feel an overwhelming rage toward him and she wanted nothing more than to take that knife and drive it into his stomach to see how he liked it, but she knew that wouldn't help the situation.

Instead of dashing over to James though she remained still and waited for him to turn his attention back to the child in his arms.  
Keeping her eyes locked on him the entire time she very slowly retrieved her phone from her pocket, keeping it down by her leg to avoid being seen she would occasionally look down slightly to see what she was doing.  
She found the number of the phone she had given Tori, it was only named "emergency phone" and she began typing a message.

"He's here, stabbed James, tell Anthony, please." and the moment she hit send she put the phone back in her pocket as timidly as she had retrieved it before finally rushing to James' side.  
She immediately pressed her hands over his on the bleeding wound, looking at him, he was still breathing somehow but it was slow, his skin was pale and his eyes were rolling back in his head.

* * *

"What about these?" Anthony asked showing Tori a pair of baby shoes, "you know I feel like you're enjoying this more than me" she teased and he laughed it off, "its just bringing back memories from when my kids were born you know" he explained and Tori smiled listening, "well its clear they have a wonderful father" he smiled back at her and the pair continued to walk through the store.

Tori felt the phone in her pocket buzz and she knew it would be Cat, in her good mood she didn't think anything bad could have happened, but the moment she read the text message that all changed.  
She stopped dead in her tracks staring at the screen, Anthony was pushing the shopping cart and got a few paces ahead before he realized she had stopped, looking back at her.  
"Tori? is everything okay?" he asked looking at her with concern. Tori couldn't even respond, instead she just showed him the phone, he read the message once and looked back at her, he paused to think for a moment, "we need to get back, come with me Tori" he instructed and took her by the wrist, instantly heading out of the story back towards the car, disregarding the half full shopping cart left in the middle of an aisle.

He was on his phone to the police, letting them know what had happened.  
The moment they were back in the car he had floored it, obviously in a rush to get back because he feared for Cat's safety, and James.

* * *

"James? speak to me" Cat pleaded frantically as she could see him rapidly deteriorating in front of her, she kept her hands firmly pressed over his desperately trying to stop the bleeding, her hands by now were covered in blood.  
"Cat?" he finally spoke, in a soft tone, a weak tone. Coughing up blood as he did so.  
"I'm here James, I'm right here honey" she almost whispered herself as she became overwhelmed hearing his voice, the tears dripped from her eyes, "I'm sorry" he whispered looking at her. "I'm sorry I let him in" Cat shook her head and wiped a tear away quickly, leaving a bit of blood on her cheek. "It wasn't your fault James, you didn't know, you couldn't have known" she was frantic now.  
"Please James, don't go, fight it... I can't lose you, I won't" she pleaded with him fearing the worst. "Cat... if I don't make it..." by now he was whispering as he didn't have enough strength to speak. Before he could continue Cat cut him off, "no! don't say that! you're going to make it, I promise... please" Cat knew no matter how hard she tried to persuade him he'd make it she couldn't do anything about the stab wound, she knew he had lost an awfully large amount of blood and at this point even she feared the worst.

"If I don't make it..." he continued, this time he withdrew his hand from the wound and use it to wipe a few tears from Cat's eyes. "If I don't make it Cat, I want you to know... you were the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you Cat" he spoke slowly and softly and Cat listened in silence as the tears ran down her cheeks.  
"James?" she asked as he finished his eyes closed and he laid back, letting his arms fall to his sides and seemingly accepting his fate. "No!" Cat yelled and this caught even Max's attention making him look over his shoulder, Cat frantically held the wound with everything she hand. "I'm not losing you James, not now! this isn't your time! don't leave me James! I need you... I... love... you" Cat herself seemed to be coming to terms with the harsh reality of the situation, fearing this may well be the last time she would see him, alive at least, albeit barely.  
She leaned over and planted a kiss on his lips, she could feel him ever so slightly kissing her back and she couldn't help but hug him, by this point she had entirely accepted that he was going to die and she just wanted to share one last embrace.

However as the pair shared what they both thought to be their final moment together the sounds of sirens could be heard, what first started in the distance soon drew closer and closer until it sounded as though they were right outside.  
Max jumped from the chair, left Dale on the couch and looked out the window, seeing at least 6 police cars already outside the gate to Cat's house, with more arriving all the time, including vans filled with armed officers, a helicopter and even an ambulance.

"You..." he turned his attention to Cat and wasted no time in walking toward her, Cat let go of James, even though she didn't want to and stood to face him.  
"What did you do?" he shouted slapping her across the face, "I did what I had to do!" Cat yelled right back at him, going as far as to slap him across the face in return, this didn't do much to help the situation though as he instantly responded with fist, clenched tightly. He hit Cat hard in her cheek and sent her to the floor.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?!" he yelled again as he looked out the window, clearly panicking. He turned his attention back to Cat and picked up the knife as he walked over to her, "you're gonna help me get out of this" he commanded as he grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to her feet.  
"Are you out of your mind Max? its over" Cat mocked him, he slapped her once again and held the knife across her throat. "I'll kill you right now you worthless bitch, don't think I won't" despite his obvious threat Cat didn't even feel fear at this point, maybe it was the thought that James may well be dead or maybe it was the fact Cat wanted to make up for that night all those years ago when Tori came to her house. One way or another Cat didn't fear him.

"You don't get it do you?" she asked, "you can't win, if you're gonna kill me? go ahead, do it, they'll put you away for the rest of your life, whatever you do, no matter how you do it Max, this ends today. This nightmare, it all ends, Tori will finally be able to live a happy life rather than one in constant fear, I don't care what happens to me because at least I know I've done right by my best friend, that's all I've ever wanted, to help her get rid of you." Cat's blood was boiling and her heart was racing.

Max pulled the knife away and frantically walked over to the window once more, this time to see the gate was open and the armed officers were making their way toward the house.  
In a frantic state now he immediately went back to Cat and grabbed her by the wrist, "you're coming with me!" he shouted but Cat refused, pulling back as he attempted to drag her to the door, "no!" she shouted.  
"They'll be here any second Max, it doesn't matter what happens, I've told you, you'll be going away for a long time" Cat taunted as she could see through the window herself.

A bang echoed through the house as the door flung wide open.  
He panicked as the armed officers immediately stormed the house, grabbing Cat and holding her in front of him like a human shield, holding the knife across her throat as he watched them come in and aim directly at him.

"I told you Max, game over" Cat taunted as she could see the officers taking control of the situation instantly, one of them was already carrying James out and another had Dale, "they're safe now, she's... safe now Max, you can't rule her life anymore, you can't make it a living hell. You can't get out of this one. It's over Max, you're going to prison, do you have any idea what happens to guys who hit women in there?" she taunted him even more as the tense stare down took place.

Max knew he was backed into a corner with no way out, the thought of prison terrified him, for as tough as he seemed the reality of the matter was he was just a bully.  
His breathing was heavy, his palms were sweaty, he thought about how he could possibly get out of this but no matter what he thought there was no way it would be possible, until an idea came to him, one that would work.

In a moment of panic he pulled the knife from Cat's neck and drove it forcefully into his own throat, not once but twice.

"No!" Cat shrieked as he dropped the knife and collapsed against the wall, sliding down it as the blood poured freely from his throat.  
Cat dropped to her knees and pressed both hands as hard as she could over the wound, whether she was trying to save him or strangle him wasn't entirely clear but whatever she was doing it was keeping him breathing.  
"You're not getting out like that, you don't deserve to get out like that! cowards like you deserve to rot in prison where they belong!" she yelled at him.  
He was still conscious, still breathing slightly, his vision a little blurred but he was able to see the knife by his hand on the floor.  
"I'm not gonna let you die because I want to see you rot like the worthless scum you are" Cat yelled keeping a vice like grip on his throat, completely oblivious to the fact he had picked up the knife, however the armed police behind her had seen it. "Cat!" one of them yelled and Cat looked away just long enough to present him with an opportunity to take the shot.

The bang made Cat shut her eyes and turn away, but as the noise subsided, Cat realized she was still breathing, there was a loud ringing in her ears from the shot but she was alive.  
She looked at the officer who had lowered his gun and then back to Max, what was left at least, a now lifeless body with a bullet hole in his forehead, hand still clasping the knife with a tight grip, Cat saw this and the realization set in on what he was about to do.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief and stood to her feet, looking back one more time at the body before finally walking away.

* * *

As Cat finally walked through the gate she felt something wash over her, at first she couldn't quite work out what it was but then she figured it out, it was the feeling of relief, after all these years, after all the bad dreams and all the sleepless nights Cat spent thinking about Tori and wondering if she was okay. It was the feeling that those days were behind her now.

"Cat!" she heard a voice pull her from this thought and looked over to see Tori running over.  
She sprinted over and immediately wrapped her arms around Cat and held her tightly, Cat returned the favour as the two girls shared an embrace, both felt the same way, relief, that it was finally over, he was gone, Tori was free.

"Are you okay? they told me what happened. did he hurt you? is James okay?" Tori asked question after question whilst keeping her grip tight.  
"James is at the hospital now, they've told me they're doing their best" Cat smiled as she told Tori, feeling her ease her grip at last so the pair could look each other in the eyes, "are you not worried?" she asked and Cat shook her head, "no, I'm not worried, I probably will be later but right now I'm happy Tori, for you. You're free Tori, this is the first day of the rest of your life, the life you deserve to live, the life you should always have lived, you can do anything now, the choice is yours, I'll make it happen" Cat beamed a massive smile from ear to ear as she finally got to say it out loud, just how overwhelmingly happy she was for Tori.

Tori paused for a moment to think about just what she could possibly do now before the idea came to her and she leaned over to whisper it in Cat's ear.

"Really? that's what you want?" Cat asked, Tori just nodded.

"Okay... I promised I'd make it happen, and I will"

* * *

 **Two weeks later**

"Well, here we are" Cat sighed a little as she looked at Tori and then back in front of her.

"I hate goodbyes" Tori sighed with a slight giggle with made Cat do the same, "its not goodbye Tori, its a new beginning remember?" Cat nudged Tori's arm with a smile and that made Tori smile too.

"You'd better get going, you'll miss your flight" Cat teased, inwardly wanting her to do just that so it meant the pair could spend more time together but she knew this is what Tori wanted and she herself wanted nothing more than to give Tori her life back.

"Cat, before I go..." Tori reached into her pocket and gave Cat a bracelet, "remember the time you made everyone friendship bracelets?" she asked as Cat looked at it in her hand, "and you cried because nobody made one for you?" she laughed a little and Cat did too, "well that day I went home and I made that one for you, and I was supposed to give it to you but... Max..." Tori paused but quickly dispelled the thoughts from her mind, "I was cleaning out the apartment and I found it, and I figured since...well..." Tori paused and Cat just laughed.

"Since we're best friends again?" Cat teased and Tori laughed, nodding, "since we're best friends again I figured I should give it to you, because you're the best friend I could possibly ask for" the pair immediately pulled each other in for a hug. Both on the verge of tears.

After a moment of silence as the two girls embraced they pulled apart hearing a boarding call. "Well, that's you" Cat said wiping her eyes. "I'll call you as soon as I land" Tori smiled wiping a single tear as it ran down her cheek.

"And before you know it, you'll be settled into your new home and your new life, and this little guy..." Cat paused to pinch Dale's cheek making him giggle, "he'll be the man of the house" she smiled looking down at him, "and you know I'll be coming to visit you both" she laughed a little, "the guest room will be permanently reserved for you Cat" Tori said with a smile on her face, "hows James doing by the way?" she asked.

"He's getting better every day, but now he's got baby fever thanks to you, its all he wants to talk about" Cat sighed and rolled her eyes making Tori laugh, "well I'm glad he's doing better, and I know you two will make great parents"  
"Not just yet though that's for sure" Cat laughed slightly.

"Thank you Cat" Tori said pulling her in for one final hug, Cat did the same and never wanted it to end because she knew as soon as it did Tori was going to get on that plane and take off for her new, better, happier life, Cat knew she'd miss her and she didn't want to see her go but she knew it was for the best, and it was the beginning of a new chapter in her life.

After what felt like forever the pair let go and Tori gathered her things, and along with Dale she turned to head off, waving bye to Cat, smiling as Dale did the same.

"Tori..." Cat called whilst waving, "I forgot to ask, what about your family?" she asked curious to know.

Tori smiled and looked down slightly before looking back up at her, "I'll see them again, I just think its best to fix my own life first before I do" she explained and Cat smiled agreeing with Tori's decision. Happy that she was finally able to do just that, fix her life.

"I'll see you soon Cat" Tori said once again waving her off along with Dale as this time they really did turn to head off for the plane.

"See you soon Tori"

 **The End**

* * *

 **And there you have it.**

 **I really do hope you enjoyed this story, I know I did myself and I'm sure in a few years I'll look back on it as a reader and I hope I'll feel the same way about it.**

 **I know to some the ending may have been a bit underwhelming or not what they were expecting, but I myself really like the way this came out, most of the time stories like these, by which I mean domestic abuse stories, they don't often have a "happy" ending.**

 **I'd like to thank those who took their time to read the story and leave a little thought behind to let me know how you felt about it.**

 **And of course, I really do hope you enjoyed.**


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